


The Servant And The Rose

by Rex_Lupin



Series: The Cinder and the Rose [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Child Abuse, Gen, Peggy Sue, RWBY Volume 8 Spoilers, Ruby is a good person, Time Travel, V8C6 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28048998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rex_Lupin/pseuds/Rex_Lupin
Summary: Fresh from the Atlas Invasion, Ruby Rose finds herself years in the past, surrounded by people she hardly even recognizes. But when she shows compassion to a child, she's faced with someone she'd never expected to see in a situation like this...
Relationships: Ruby Rose & Cinder Fall
Series: The Cinder and the Rose [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2153556
Comments: 25
Kudos: 146





	The Servant And The Rose

_ The Glass Unicorn.  _

Ruby didn't like the place much. Too much of an... Undercurrent. The  _ We Do Not Serve Faunus  _ sign was a bit of a giveaway, really. But it was one of the fancier hotels in town, and Ironwood had  _ insisted.  _

Ruby wasn't sure what to make of him. She'd nearly attacked the man when she'd first appeared in this time. 

He wasn't even a General yet. Just the Headmaster of Atlas Academy. A Specialist in the military, too. Someone else was General. And still she'd almost attacked him. 

Ruby supposed she understood. One moment, she was standing on the front lawn of the Schnee Mansion, watching as Salem's...  _ monster _ ... made landfall, and seconds after, the world had  _ flickered,  _ and she was standing in... The exact same place, really, except there was no invasion, no Grimm, no collapsing shield, and it was daytime. 

Bit of a giveaway, that last part. No wonder she'd been high-strung. And picked a fight with Jacques Schnee. And then found herself against  _ Specialist Ironwood.  _

He wasn't even a cyborg yet! 

So yeah. Ruby understood. She also wondered what else hadn’t happened yet. Was Watts still working for Atlas or had he defected already? Did Penny exist yet?

Penny...

Ruby’s heart clenched. The last time she’d seen the girl when the android had been heading for the Amity Arena. When Ruby had promised they would be seeing each other again.

It seemed that Ruby would be breaking that promise...

A shattering sound caused her to draw Crescent Rose, before lowering it sheepishly. Not a threat. Just a servant tripping and dropping a tray. 

...was it just her imagination, or did the servant look...  _ Really  _ young? 

Frowning, Ruby rose. She was liking this place less and less. She watched with narrowed eyes as the manager dragged the girl away. 

Child. 

Ruby didn't like that sight one bit. Something told her that something awful was going to happen. So, naturally, she followed, light on her feet, Crescent Rose still in a rifle formation. 

She could only catch a glimpse. A single glimpse, of the girl kneeling on the floor - was that a  _ shock collar?  _

Ruby didn't think. She  _ acted.  _

A flash of her Semblance and she was in front of the kid. Less than a second to aim, to fire, and the woman was cradling a bleeding hand, shards of a remote embedded into her skin, an outraged expression on her face. A nick of Crescent's blade and the shock collar fell off the child's neck. 

Ruby felt herself shaking with outrage. She couldn't summon proper words. So she coated both the child and herself in her Semblance and raced out of there, through the lobby, out the door, and down the street, stopping by the street corner to catch a metaphorical breath. 

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Do you need a doctor?" 

"I-I'm fine," the girl replied, although Ruby didn't believe it for a moment. She sounded younger than  _ Oscar!  _

Ruby decided to try a different tactic. "It's okay. You're safe. You're out of that...  _ horrible  _ place. What's your name?" she tacked on, realising that it probably should have been her first question. 

The girl looked up into Ruby's eyes, and the young Huntress was struck by a sudden, if faint,  _ familiarity _ in this amber gaze. 

"Cinder," the girl whispered, and suddenly Ruby realized where she had seen eyes of this colour before. "My name is Cinder." 

The universe, Ruby Rose reflected as she stared into the eyes of the girl who would one day grow up to murder her friend Pyrrha, had a really darn unfunny sense of humour. 

No, Ruby reminded herself. This was still a little girl. She wouldn’t be murdering anyone any time soon. “How old are you, Cinder?” she found herself whispering.

“I’m ten,” the girl answered, and she sounded so  _ bitter _ ... Yeah, there was  _ no way _ Ruby was leaving this girl into that situation any longer. No matter who she grew up to be.

“You won’t be going back there,” Ruby affirmed. That did raise the question of  _ where _ they’d be going, but the main principle was that she was  _ out _ of the situation.

...was that her Scroll ringing? She fished it out of her pocket.  _ Specialist Ironwood... _ Ruby realized that she probably should have acted with less instinct. No, no matter. If Ironwood didn’t like what she’d done, he could just suck it.

...No, she wasn’t bitter.

“Yes?” she answered into the scroll. “What is it?”

“ _ There were reports of gunfire at the hotel I sent you to, _ ” came a prompt reply. “ _ Are you okay? _ ”

...Huh. Now she was feeling kind of bad for her first impression. “I’m fine,” she replied. “The hotel staff might... not be, but I don’t care about them.” She hesitated. “Also I may or may not have started the altercation, but since I have  _ morals _ and am actually  _ invested _ in preventing child abuse, I don’t regret it in the slightest.” There. She said it.

_ “Miss Rose...” _ Ironwood replied warningly. “ _ What exactly happened in there? _ ”

Ruby paused, staring at her tiny future archnemesis, who was looking up at her in... Caution? Admiration? “I shot a vindictive evil  _ bitch _ and may or may not have adopted someone,” she finally decided. “Yeah, that sounds right.” She paused. “I might need a new place to stay.”

“ _ Miss Rose... _ ” Ironwood replied. “ _ Are you certain you wouldn’t rather like to- _ ”

“If the next words out of your mouth are along the lines of ‘take an abused child  _ back _ into an abusive situation’ then we are no longer working together.  _ Got it? _ ” Ruby shot back, eyes blazing. She also watched how the  _ admiration _ in Cinder’s eyes visibly bloomed into a look she’d seen in her own eyes several times -  _ hope. _ Was this the first time someone ever showed her kindness?

“ _...I see you’ve made up your mind, _ ” the Specialist sighed. “ _ Very well. I’ll arrange for transport- _ ” 

“We’ll manage without,” Ruby replied coldly. 

“ _...Of course, _ ” Ironwood sighed. “ _ Well, you’re welcome to stay in the Academy I suppose- _ ”

“Great, thanks,” Ruby grinned, closing her Scroll and stuffing it back in her pocket, before turning back to little Cinder. “Hey, Cinder. Wanna fly with my Semblance again?”

The little girl nodded slowly, eyes wide and almost sparkling. That face, Ruby realized, should never be allowed to become the face of the bitter woman she fought for so long in the future long past. There was still  _ hope _ for her.

“Then let’s  _ go, _ ” Ruby whispered, a smile gracing her face as she scooped little Cinder once more into the whirlwind of her Semblance, and shot down the street, rose petals trailing behind them into the night.

What came next, she didn’t know. But right then?

In that moment?

Everything was just  _ fine. _

**Author's Note:**

> So. Cinder deserved anyone else to teach her about compassion - so I naturally picked the one person so full of compassion she can look past those matters.
> 
> I think.
> 
> Hey, should this have more chapters, or can it remain just an one-shot?


End file.
